Sandy Hook Tragedy Forces Gun Maker Out of Cerberus' Hand

PE firm Cerberus to sell its holding of Freedom Group, the maker of a rifle used in the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Cerberus Capital Management has over $20 billion in assets under management and was founded by Stephen Feinberg in 1992. Prior to Friday's school shooting, the private equity fund had drawn scrutiny from the New York Times for its holding of gun-related assets. The firms was also widely criticized for its roughly $7 billion buyout of Chrysler prior to the automaker's bailout.

During the financial crisis, Chrysler and another multi-billion buyout bet - GMAC received billion dollar bailouts from the federal government. While Chrysler's eventual bankruptcy wiped out Cerberus's investment in the automaker, the firm was reportedly able to break even as a result of a holding in Chrysler Financial, which was sold to TD Bank in 2010.

For more on Cerberus Capital Management, see why its founder said last year its multi-billion dollar Chrysler investment was a bad deal.